The invention is related to the amorphous olefin co/ter-polymers and their manufacture. The invention is especially concerned with the improvement of the softness, flexibility and impact properties of amorphous co/ter-polymers by using substituted cyclic co-monomers.
Cycloolefin--copolymers (COC) are manufactured commercially using metathesis ring-opening polymerization providing thermoplastic COC--polymers with high glass transition temperatures (Tg) and good optical properties (used in compact discs etc.). Furthermore COC--polymers are manufactured commercially by co-polymerizing ethylene and cycloolefins using vanadium type Ziegler-Natta-catalysts, also providing good optical properties and heat resistance, but rather poor impact properties. Also ethylene-cycloolefin-copolymers with high Tg values have been obtained by the use of metallocene catalysts. Based on the patent examples, however, these technologies are focusing on using norbornene or tetracyclododecene as comonomer. Typical for both these co-monomers is the poor impact properties of their COC--polymers. This is due to the fact that the forces between the polymer chains are very weak (van der Waal's forces), because the polymer chains are fully saturated hydrocarbons (paraffinic). Furthermore there is a very low degree of entanglement of these polymer chains due to their stiffness.